A blast-retaining panel wall and connectors thereof

ABSTRACT

A blast-resistant wall (10) comprises a first panel (20) and a second panel (30) in face-to-face spaced parallel arrangement is disclosed and securing means (21, 22) to secure the said panels (20, 30), in spaced end-to-end relationship with a further first panel and a second panel respectively, forming a first and second panel assemblies. To secure said panel-engaging portion to a panel, the securing means (21, 22) comprises a panel engaging portion (55) engaging a face (56) of each of neighbouring first or second panels (20, 30), A spacer section (52) separates the ends of adjacent panels. The first and second panel assemblies are connected via a plurality of lattice members (24), each lattice member (24) is attached at a first end to securing means engaging a first panel and at a second end to securing means engaging a second panel and extending between the panels, A cover member (70) bridges across adjacent first panels and second panels on the outer faces of the first panels and second panels and covers the spacer section.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a blast-retaining wall comprising aplurality of connected panels and also two connectors to connect saidpanels. The invention additionally relates to a wall comprising two setsof connecting panels and spaced in parallel relationship. The inventionfurther relates to a means of connecting wall panels together.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Known walls are retrofitted onto existing offshore jacket installationsand in use, protect personnel and equipment from a fire, explosion orcombination thereof is well-known in the art. Such walls need not onlyto be able to withstand the shockwave which is generated by theexplosion, but also to withstand the heat generated both over the shortterm, but also possibly over a longer term as a resulting fire continuesto burn.

Many types of wall are known in the art. A difficulty in constructingsuch a wall is that in order to prevent a shockwave from an explosionfrom passing through the wall, the wall often needs to be made of strongmaterials which are typically, relatively dense materials. As such, thewalls produced can be heavy, which is an obvious disadvantage, forexample on transport and installation, but also problematic where thewall is to be installed into a floating structure such as a boat or anoil rig. Additionally, the wall must retain its structural integrityfollowing a blast: that is, it should not completely fall apart as partof the energy absorbing process. The wall needs to remain in place tocontain any fire generated by the explosion and also to resist furtherpossible explosions.

One type of a wall known in the art is disclosed in GB2277943 in whichspecifically shaped panels, having a wedge-shaped end region are joinedtogether using a pair of connection assemblies including flanges havinga shape complementary to that of the wedge shaped end region. Onedisadvantage of the wall and assembly disclosed therein is that althoughthe joint can absorb energy, the single wall layer needs to be able towithstand the forces purely by means of its internal structure andmaterial strength. This wall, disclosed in GB2277943 is primarily afirewall and if subjected to a blast which is beyond a certain limit,the force of the blast will cause the connected panels to separate andthereby causing the blast retaining wall to fail.

The present invention relates to walls formed of a plurality of panelsplaced end-to-end and joined together along adjacent vertical edges.

It is an object of the current invention to provide a wall whichaddresses the above structural problems. It is a further object of theinvention to provide a wall panel assembly to further address the aboveproblems. It is yet further object of the invention to provide anassembly to secure wall panels together to address the above assemblyproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a blastresistant wall comprising a first panel and a second panel inface-to-face spaced parallel arrangement,

the securing means to secure the first panel and the second panel, inspaced end-to-end relationship with a further first panel and a secondpanel respectively, forming a first panel assembly and a second panelassembly,

the securing means comprising a panel engaging portion engaging a faceof each of neighbouring first panels or second panels,

and a securing element to secure said panel-engaging portion to a panel,

a spacer section between the ends of the first and second panelsrespectively,

the first and second panel assemblies being connected via a plurality oflattice members, each lattice member being attached at a first end tosecuring means engaging a first panel and at a second end to securingmeans engaging a second panel and extending between the panels.

Preferably, the cell wall includes a cover member bridging acrossadjacent first panels and second panels on the outer faces of the firstpanels and second panels and covering the spacer section of the securingmeans to improve heat dissipation.

The design provides improved strength towards an explosive blast asangled lattice members allow the structure to bend or crumple, yetretain a solid, integral structure so being able to resist fire and alsofurther explosions.

Preferably the outer face of an edge of a first panel or a second panelhas a stepped configuration to allow easier assembly.

Advantageously, the inner face of a cover member has a shapecorresponding to the end of a first or a second panel. Thus, providing agood insulating heat barrier over the joint formed between the adjacentends of the panels. Thereby, preventing heat from penetrating the jointand subsequently causing its subsequent distortion. Furthermore, theshape of the cover to cover the joint while being flush with the outersurfaces of the adjacent panels, which are exposed to the blast. Theshape of the cover prevents the cover from being removed from the jointby the effect of a blast.

Preferably, the securing means comprises two flanges, each flange havinga U-shaped portion, the bases of said U-shaped portions being in opposedspaced relationship with each other, which flanges are furtherpreferably integral with each other to form a single flange. Yet furtherpreferably, a fire resistant material is incorporated in the spacebetween the bases of the U-shaped portions, which fire resistantmaterial is still yet further preferably in the form of a bar ofmaterial.

The cover member is preferably secured by bolts to a face of a first orsecond panel to minimise disruption to the joint and also minimiseweakening of a panel.

The panel engaging portion of a securing means is preferably secured bybolts to a panel to improve the strength of the joint.

The base region of the first and the second panels are preferably heldin place by support structures.

Advantageously, the lattice members extend from the securing means in avertical plane perpendicular to the first and the second panels. Furtheradvantageously, a lattice member extends non-horizontally from thesecuring means. Yet further advantageously, the angle made by a latticemember with the horizontal plane is from an angle of greater than 15′and still yet further preferably from 18-25′.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a paneljoining means comprising a bracket engaging the end of a panel, saidbracket including a U-shaped portion having parallel side walls andflanges extending outwardly from the free end of said side wallsperpendicular to said side walls.

Preferably, the panel-joining means comprises a pair of brackets, theU-shaped portion of each bracket being in parallel spaced relationshipto each other.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a panelassembly comprising a plurality of panels, said panels being connectedtogether in end-to-end spaced relationship by securing means as definedabove to form a panel assembly.

Such an assembly having a single layer of panels can be utilised as awall where the magnitude of any explosion or fire which may occur isknown to be lower and within tolerances of such a single layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated with respect to the accompanying drawingswhich show by way of example only a panel, wall assembly and paneljoining means. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a joint between panels;

FIG. 2a is a section through a joint and FIG. 2b an enlarged view ofpart of the joint of FIG. 2 a;

FIG. 3 is a further sectional view through a joint including an expandedview of a securing plate;

FIGS. 4a, 4b are vertical sectional views through a wall;

FIG. 5 is a close up horizontal sectional view through a joint; and

FIG. 6 is a further close up horizontal sectional view through anassembled wall comprising the joint.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein described relates to a series of panels, assembledtogether in edge-to-edge configuration to form a barrier wall to containan explosion and/or fire from one side of the wall. Due to the modularnature of the wall, this can be installed relatively quickly whenrequired and also subsequently removed relatively quickly if the needfor the wall ends or changes, or to replace a particular panel. Thewalls contemplated can have a single layer of panels or, in a preferredembodiment, a plurality of layers with two layers being especiallypreferred. One standard which needs to be met relates to heat transferwhich must be sufficiently low that where the temperature on one side ofthe wall is high, for example of the order of 1500°C., the temperatureon the other side of the wall remains below 180°C., which is well belowthe auto-ignition temperature of many materials such as paper.

The nature of the assembly means provides for a continuous barrier,including the panels so that fluid cannot escape through the jointbetween neighbouring panels. Although the panels are normally robust andunitary, the joint between panels is an obvious source of weakness, bothmechanically in resistance to energy, but also fluid movement across thewall.

The broad details of the invention can been seen initially with respectto FIG. 1. In this figure, a wall generally referenced 10 comprises twosets of panels 20 and 30 with a gap, typically an air gap, therebetween.The panels 20, 30 are formed of materials known in the art ofexplosion/fire resistant walls and can be formed in many layers or asingle layer, perhaps having an outer thin skin attached to the outsidethereof. Examples of materials which can be used for the construction ofpanels and also other constituent parts include steel, such as stainlesssteel and/or galvanised steel. Additionally, composite materials canalso be used, either alone or in combination with other materials andcan be in a sandwich structure. A PVC laminate or paint finish can beapplied to the outer surfaces.

The panels 20 and 30 are aligned with each other and joined end-to-endto form a wall of the desired length. The joining assembly used to jointhe panels includes panel joining members 21, 22 which are U-shaped,having which flanges extend from the open end of the U at right anglesto the side walls of the U. Unlike the above-cited prior art, thebrackets are suitable for use with standard panels and do not requirethe panel to be formed into a joggle or specific stepped configurationalong the vertical edges of the panel. Moreover, the panel joiningmembers 21, 22 can all be of the same shape which allows for usermanufacture and stock maintenance, as only one type of joining memberbeing required.

The panel joining members 21, 22 are secured to the panels 20, 30 bymeans of standard fitments such as bolts or screws (see below). Toprovide further protection to the joining assembly, cover plates 23 aresecured to the innermost and outermost facing panels: again conventionalfixing means known in the art can be employed.

As can further be seen in FIG. 1, the sets of panels 20 and 30 arejoined together by lattice members or struts 24 which provide additionalstrength to the overall wall structure. The struts can be formed of asteel, such as stainless steel which can be a galvanised steel.

Turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, these illustrate the structure of the wall 10and particularly the joining assembly which are shown in section in moredetail. As in FIG. 1, the wall 10 comprises a first panel 20 and asecond panel 30 in spaced relationship to each other. Attached to, andspanning the space between the panels 20, 30 are struts 24. The struts24 firstly provides structural strength and rigidity to the wall 10 toprevent the wall flexing when in normal usage. However, when anexplosion occurs the struts 24, and the angled nature of theirattachment to the panels 20, 30 means that the panels, especially thepanel closest to the explosion centre, can flex sufficiently to absorbthe energy released, particularly when released in the form of ashockwave. It is known that any absorption of a flexible structure canprovide a barrier which is ultimately able to withstand greater shocksthan that provided by a rigid structure.

Additionally, in contrast to certain prior art walls, the struts 24,although they extend from the panel 30 in a vertical plane perpendicularto the panels 20, 30, are inclined vertically, rather than simply goingstraight across perpendicular to the plane of the panel 30. This featureenables the wall 10 to crumple under the effects of an explosion, whichagain acts to dissipate the energy rather than permit the energy to passacross the wall 10. Typically a value of greater than 15° and especiallyfrom 18-25° can be used. Additionally, to a small extent the additionalmaterial of the longer strut 24 (that is compared with a strut whichgoes straight across), again allows for greater energy absorption.

A further feature of the strut 24 is shown, particularly in relation toFIG. 3. A strut 24 is provided at both ends with a fitment means in theform of a slot 25, which fitment means engages the surface of a paneljoining member 21. The strut 24 is secured to the panel joining member21 by means of a bolt 26 which passes through an aperture 27 in thepanel joining member 21 and also through the slot 25. The provision of aslot 25 enables the strut 24 to be moved in a vertical direction to easefitment, before the bolt 26 is tightened. Additionally, the slot 25 alsoaids in the explosion resistance initially, the strut 24 is providedwith an initial movement along the length of the slot 25, whichfacilitates a subsequent larger movement which acts to deform the strutin a controlled manner; i.e. the strut is allowed to crumple, soabsorbing energy.

In an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, the struts do not extendin a vertical plane from a panel, but can be at an angle inclined tosaid vertical plane. In FIGS. 4a, 4b a further illustration of a wall 10is shown, with two panels 20 in opposed spaced relationship and areattached to a supporting structure, along their peripheral edges via aconventional connection means.

In order to stabilise the panels 20, 30 in the upright position, basesupports 40, optionally connected together by a connecting plate 41 areprovided. The base supports 40 comprise two upright support plates 42,43 which are secured to and retain the panels 20, 30. Plates 42, 43 aresecured by means of bolts 44 passing through the plates 42, 43 and thepanels 20, 30. The inner plates 43 can be further strengthened throughthe use of a cross-piece 45. In order to further stabilise thestructure, the connecting plate 41 is secured by a bolt to the deckplate 46 or other surface on which the wall 10 rests.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a further embodiment of a cover plate 70 andalso of a panel 71 which provides a joint which removes heat and doesnot distort, giving an insulation in the region of 640 kg/m³. The coverplate 70 disclosed enables heat to be removed from the plate thusreducing the risk of distortion, and can also remove or reduce therequirement for insulating materials to be included within the joint.The cover plate 70 has an outer cover 72 and an inner section 73. It isadvantageous that the cover plate 70 resist heat transfer across thepanels and, as with the first embodiment, both the cover 72 and theinner section 73 can be formed of, either completely or partially, aninsulating material. The inner section 73 is bonded to a surface of theouter cover 72, which faces the assembled joint, with a suitabletemperature resistant material. In order to accommodate the cover plate70, the ends of the panels 71 are profiled into a stepped configurationsuch that the steps 74 a, 74 b enable the cover plate 70 to sit easilyin the steps 74 a, 74 b and provide a continuous surface with the faceof the panel 71. If desired, a sealant material can be provided betweenthe engaging services of the cover plate 70 and the panel 71. The coverplate 70 is secured to the panel 71 by a screw-fix means.

In an alternative embodiment of the inventions, one or more additionalinner sections may be bonded to a surface of the inner section 73, whichfaces the assembled joint. The additional inner sections are configuredso that they cooperate with the recess formed at the assembled joint bythe profiled ends of attached panels 71. This provides the assembledjoint with a heat barrier with an increased/improved heat insulation,which will be effective against higher temperatures and/or extending theduration of the assembled joint in an high temperature environment,without buckling or distorting.

It will be appreciated that in the illustrated embodiments, wallscomprising two sets of panels in spaced relationship are illustrated,such an arrangement providing a multi-layered protection against anexplosion and also heat transfer, the air gap between sets of panelsacting as an insulator. Walls can be contemplated however comprising asingle set of panels only, in end-to-end relationship panels beingsecured together using the bracket assembly illustrated above,particularly with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

In use the base supports may be secured to a floor surface. A panel isplaced in position relative to the base support and bolted in placeusing the bolts, and the support plates. The brackets are then screwedto a free edge of the panel via the flanges with any insulating materialincluded within the gap between the brackets. A second panel is locatedbetween the free ends of the flanges and the flanges are then secured tothe second panel. The wait formed from the panels can then be continuedto the desired length.

Struts are secured at one end by bolts to the bases of the U-shapedportion, with the slots facilitating fitment to the desired height. Thesecond, opposed, set of panels is similarly located in position and theother end of the strut attached to the brackets. The bolts can then befully tightened. Finally, cover plates are secured in position.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificdetails described herein, which are given by way of example only, andthat various modifications and alterations are possible within the scopeof the appended claims.

1. A blast resistant wall comprising a first panel and a second panel inface-to-face spaced parallel arrangement, securing means to secure thefirst panel and the second panel, in spaced end-to-end relationship witha further first panel and a second panel respectively, forming, in use,a first horizontal panel assembly and a second horizontal panelassembly, the securing means comprising a panel engaging portionengaging a face of each of neighbouring first panels or second panels,and a securing element to secure said panel-engaging portion to a panel,a spacer section between the ends of the first and second panelsrespectively, the first and second panel assemblies being connected viaa plurality of lattice members, each lattice member being attached at afirst end to the securing means engaging a first panel and at a secondend to the securing means engaging a second panel and extending betweenthe first and second panel assemblies.
 2. A wall according to claim 1,including a cover member bridging across adjacent first panels or secondpanels on the outer faces of the first panels or second panels andcovering the spacer section of the securing means.
 3. A wall accordingto claim 1, wherein the outer face of an edge of a first panel or asecond panel has a stepped configuration.
 4. A wall according claim 1,wherein the inner face of a cover member has a shape corresponding tothe end of a first or a second panel.
 5. A wall according to claim 1,wherein the securing means comprises two flanges, each flange having aU-shaped portion, the bases of said U-shaped portions being in opposedspaced relationship with each other.
 6. A wall according to claim 5,wherein the flanges are integral with each other to form a singleflange.
 7. A wall according to claim 5, wherein a fire resistantmaterial is incorporated in the space between the bases of the U-shapedportions.
 8. A wall according to claim 7, wherein the fire resistantmaterial is in the form of a bar of material.
 9. A wall according toclaim 1, wherein the cover member is secured by bolts to a face of afirst or second panel.
 10. A wall according to claim 1, wherein thepanel engaging portion of a securing means is secured by bolts to apanel.
 11. A wall according to claim 1, wherein the base region of thefirst and the second panels are held in place by support structures. 12.A wall according to claim 1, wherein the lattice members extend from thesecuring means in a vertical plane perpendicular to the first and thesecond panels.
 13. A wall according to claim 12, wherein a latticemember extends non-horizontally from the securing means.
 14. A wallaccording to claim 13, wherein the angle made by a lattice member withthe horizontal plane is greater than 15°.
 15. A wall according to claim1, wherein a lattice member is attached to a securing means through aslot in the securing means.
 16. A wall according to claim 1, wherein acover member bridges across adjacent first panels and adjacent secondpanels on the outer faces of the first panels and second panels andcovering the spacer section of the securing means.
 17. A panel joiningmeans comprising a bracket engaging the end of a panel, said bracketincluding a U-shaped portion having parallel side walls and flangesextending outwardly from the free end of said side walls perpendicularto said side walls.
 18. A panel joining means according to 17, whereinthe panel-joining means comprises a pair of brackets, the U-shapedportion of each bracket being in parallel spaced relationship to eachother.
 19. A panel assembly comprising a plurality of panels, saidpanels being connected together in end-to-end spaced relationship bysecuring means as defined according to claim 1 to form the panelassembly.